ABSTRACT
The communication model was developed so that it could be tested in the field against information gathered from news personnel. As environmental knowledge is retrieved and interpreted by journalists and news practitioners, the meanings which can be taken from this information diversify. Journalists use “taken-for-granted” or tacit rules in the news process with which to gather information, construct and interpret the environmental information for news. The information is retrieved by librarians and journalists. This information will become an integral part of the environmental news story. The straightforward design of the chart and the use of directional arrows enable the reader to understand the movement of news information. The tertiary stage is a detailed analysis of the news process and conveys an account of the rules which journalists use from an integrationalist perspective. The construction of news is routinised by the repetition of the same sequence of rules and consequently, journalists perform them tacitly.
